Courts, court users and the judicial process

ICPR has long-standing experience of conducting empirical courts-based research. Prior studies have examined sentence decision-making and public attitudes to sentencing; the quality of criminal advocacy; and what it is like to attend the criminal courts as a defendant, witness or victim. Current work includes research into what it means to 'participate' in criminal, family and tribunal proceedings; the values shaping deliberation in the Court of Protection; and the preparation of witness statements for the Employment Tribunal.

Current projects

Diverse Disabilities: Accessibility and Justice in the Tribunal

Lived experience of the law: A research and policy project

Completed projects include:

Enhancing problem-solving practice in the Youth Court

Inside Crown Court

Joint Enterprise

Judging Values and Participation in Mental Capacity Law

Judicial perceptions of criminal advocacy

Language Barriers in the Criminal Justice System

Participation in Courts and Tribunals

Public engagement with justice: Evidence review

Taking and Making a Statement: An exploratory study analysing through the lens of research the production of witness statements by lawyers and litigants in person (MAS)

The quality of legal advice and representation in the Youth Justice System

The Youth Proceedings Advocacy Review

Voicing loss: Meanings and implications of participation by bereaved people in inquests

Publications

Jackson, J., Kuha, J., Bradford, J. and Hough, M (2025) ‘Why do People Cooperate with the Police and Criminal Courts? A Test of Procedural Justice Theory in 30 Countries’ Criminology.

Kong C., Jacobson J. and Cooper P. (2025) The humanising imperative for effective participation: Humean virtues and the limits of procedural justice. International Journal of Law in Context. 21 (3): 453-72.

Jacobson, J., Murray, A. and Templeton, L. (2025) ‘I’m utterly utterly despondent and disappointed.’ Bereaved families describe being failed by the inquest system. The Conversation, 11.3.25.

Templeton, L., Jacobson, J. and Murray, A. (2025) ‘We were not included – there was no thought about our loss’: Experiences of the inquest process among families bereaved by gambling-related suicide’. Project report. Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, Centre for Death and Society, and Gambling With Lives.

Jacobson, J., Murray, A., Rumble, H. and Templeton, L. (2024) ‘Coronial investigations: Past deaths and future lives’ in Trabsky, M. and Jones, I. (eds) Routledge Handbook of Death and Law

Jacobson, J. (2024) When bereaved people are left more distressed by the inquest process, something needs to change. Findings from the Voicing Loss study. Patient Safety Learning Hub.